Accidents and the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act

Posted on
Dec 2, 2016 4:35pm PST

What is the outer Continental Shelf?

In August 1954, the
Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) was created to govern activity related to the outer Continental
Shelf (OCS).
The act defines the OCS as the following:

"The term 'outer Continental Shelf' means submerged lands
lying seaward and outside of the area of lands beneath navigable waters…of
which the subsoil and seabed appertain to the United States and are subject
to its jurisdiction..."

43 USC § 1301 defines "lands beneath navigable waters" as:

Lands within a state's boundary covered by non-tidal water, which is
navigable under U.S. law;

Lands permanently or periodically covered by tidal waters up to the mean
high tide and up to three geographical miles distance from the state's
coastline; or

Simply, the outer Continental Shelf is submerged land outside of state
coastal waters but still within U.S. jurisdiction.
Title 43, Chapter 29 of the U.S. Code divides the OCS into four main regions:

Gulf of Mexico

Atlantic

Pacific

Alaska

History of OCSLA

By the middle of the 20th century, with the country transitioning away
from a wartime-economy, demand for oil and gas skyrocketed. Offshore exploration
took off, and by 1949, there were more than 44 exploratory wells in production
in the Gulf of Mexico. Within the next decade, oil production became America's
second largest source of revenue. Eventually, in 1953, the U.S. Submerged
Lands Act was passed, under which the federal government controlled submerged
land three geographical miles away from the coastline; exceptions were
made for coasts along the Gulf of Mexico, where state control was extended
for nine nautical miles.

One year later, in 1954, the government passed OCSLA, which defined federal
jurisdiction over the OCS; the Secretary of the Interior was also granted
the ability to lease lands under federal control for mineral development.
Later, the Secretary of the Interior designated the Minerals Management
Service (MMS) to be the agency responsible for leasing the OCS and supervising
activity following the lease. The MMS was later renamed to the Bureau
of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE).

How does OCSLA affect offshore workers?

Section 1333(b) of OCSLA addresses issues pertaining to employees disabled
or killed while working on the OCS in operations for the exploration,
development, removal, or the transportation by pipeline of natural resources.
Under this section, these employees can be paid compensation under the
Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA). In order to
qualify for coverage under this OSCLA extension of LHWCA, the injured
or deceased offshore employee cannot be a vessel master, crewmember of
any vessel, or an officer or employee of the U.S.

2012 Supreme Court Ruling

In January 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that OCSLA extends
coverage to workers so long as they can establish a substantial nexus
between their injury and the OCS extractive operations of his or her employer.
The historic ruling dealt with the case of Juan Valladolid, who worked
on an offshore drilling platform, but was killed at an onshore oil processing
facility. His employer argued that he should have sought relief under
state workers' compensation law since the incident occurred on dry
land. The court ruled that OCSLA can be applied to anyone who is injured
or killed as a result of OCS operations, regardless of location.

According to Justice Thomas:

"We are confident that ALJs and courts will be able to determine whether
an injured employee has established a significant causal link between
the injury he suffered and his employer's on-OCS extractive operations.
Although we expect that employees injured while performing tasks on the
OCS will regularly satisfy the test, whether an employee injured while
performing an off-OCS task qualifies…is a question that will depend
on the individual circumstances of each case."

Industries and Accidents Along the Outer Continental Shelf

Major industries operating along the OCS include deep-sea oil drilling
and offshore wind energy, which involve heavy machinery and specialized
work prone to dangerous failures and accidents. According to the Outer
Continental Shelf Lands Act, workers in these offshore industries can
be covered by the same protections of maritime workers on land. Specifically,
the OCSLA extends the protections of the Longshore and Harbor Workers
Compensation Act, a federal law that is similar to state-specific laws
on workers' compensation, when circumstances qualify. In all other
cases, it is most likely that the particular state's laws on workers'
compensation will be extended to those injured in accidents along the
Outer Continental Shelf.

Representation for Injuries Sustained on the Outer Continental Shelf

When accidents, injuries, and death occur along the OCS, the legal process
for resolving the particular matter can become complicated. Legal advocates
involved will need to understand the complex limitations of each level
of jurisdiction, as well as which legal statutes apply respectively with
a focus on offshore injury laws.

If you have been injured in an accident involving industry on the Outer
Continental Shelf and want to learn more about filing a claim for compensation,
contact the experienced injury attorneys at Arnold & Itkin.

The information on this website is for general information purposes only.
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or viewing does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.

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of cases handled by the maritime lawyers of Arnold & Itkin LLP. These
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